


Seeing Eye Horse

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 11:48:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11691003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Jack's blindness returns, but this time Dale helps him with it. Jack belongs to SSO-Jack-Wolfwatcher.





	Seeing Eye Horse

Part of Jack panicked when he woke up and couldn’t see. But the other part of him accepted it. Of course his powers hadn’t fully healed his sight. He wasn’t strong enough or powerful enough or good enough.

“Jack?” asked Ydris, seeing his boyfriend sitting up sadly in bed. “What’s wrong?”

“Lost my sight,” said Jack. “Again.”

“Oh no,” said Ydris, immediately cupping Jack’s face in his hands. “I am so sorry, Jack, this is all my fault.”

“God, stop feeling so fucking sorry for yourself,” said Jack, pushing Ydris’ hands away. “I managed fine before, I’ll manage now.”

“Here,” said Ydris. Jack heard a rustle as Ydris turned to grab something, and then the sound of plastic against plastic.

“Thanks,” said Jack, and slipped on the shadow sight glasses with the ease of having done that with his real glasses so many times before. Now, the room exploded into colour- pops and swirls of it, all emanating from the being in front of him. Ydris was a rainbow of colours, but there was an intense bright pink that showed Jack where his boyfriend’s head was.

“Better?” asked Ydris.

“Much,” said Jack. He got up, which was a little strange when he couldn’t see the ground, and felt his way out of the wagon. He opened the front door and nearly fell down the steps, but Dale was there to catch him.

“Are you alright?” asked Dale, standing still so that Jack could grip tightly to him.

“Yeah,” said Jack. “Just lost my fucking sight again.”

“Oh dear,” said Dale. “Climb onto my back, I might be able to help.”

“How?” asked Jack. “What, are you going to be my seeing-eye horse or something?” Fortunately, thanks to their bond, Dale could sense that those were two separate questions.

“Er… fetch your boyfriend,” said Dale.

“So he’ll have to sit me on you like a child, God that’s humiliating,” said Jack. But he didn’t see any other alternatives, and he didn’t really feel like falling on his ass like a fool first thing in the morning. “Ydris! Get out here and help me up onto Dale!”

“Are you sure that is wise?” asked Ydris, and Jack heard the wagon door close behind his boyfriend.

“We are Soul Horse and rider,” said Dale. “Jack could not be safer anywhere else.” Jack relayed this information to Ydris, albeit with a few more expletives.

“Okay,” said Ydris. “You are right. Here.” He tacked up Dale for Jack, knowing that the tack would help him with his balance and hold him on better, and then lifted his boyfriend up so that Jack could get a leg over. Jack could do the rest himself, settling into the saddle and gripping the reins. He looked a lot more comfortable now.

“And take off those silly glasses,” said Dale. “Unless you would like to see a magical overlay.”

“That would be cool,” said Jack. “But it’d probably be better like this.” He took his glasses off and tucked them into his shirt, sighing sadly as darkness was once more all he could see.

“What are you doing?” asked Ydris.

“Going for a ride, I guess,” said Jack. “Don’t worry, Dale can look after me. He’s not my Soul Horse for nothing.”

To his credit, Ydris remained by the wagon and did not move as Jack rode off on Dale.

As he rode, Jack heard the surroundings change. He heard the birds in the trees up on the highland. Dale’s hooves clip-clopping on the worn cobblestone road, and then more muffled as he walked over a blanket of pine needles. Jack could hear water, and then the sound of hooves on wood. Dale stepped to the side as a few riders galloped past him, but kept on at a walk. Jack was grateful for that.

“Where are you taking me?” asked Jack.

“To one of your favourite places,” said Dale. Jack tensed as they rode past the inn, fully expecting Ed Field to want to talk to him or offer him one of his ‘creations’, but they passed him and went up the slope without any difficulties.

After a time, Jack noticed that he couldn’t just see black anymore. Now, he could see grey. Maybe that was a good thing. He moved his head around, thinking that maybe he was seeing his horse, but he saw nothing. Just grey.

“Are you doing this?” asked Jack.

“Doing what?” asked Dale. “Despite our bond, Jack, I am not psychic. I cannot read your thoughts unless you direct them towards me.”

“You’re sounding more like Meteor every day and that worries me a bit,” said Jack. Dale snorted. “I can see grey now. Before, it was all black.”

“Then it is working,” said Dale, sounding proud of himself and picking his pace up to a trot until Jack gripped his reins tighter and swore.

“What’s working?” asked Jack. “I’m not psychic either, you know.”

“I had a theory,” said Dale. “If the bond between a Soul Rider and horse is so strong, then perhaps they can use that bond to see through each other’s eyes. I was going to test this theory before, but you never left the tent or wagon.”

“Yeah, sorry I was too fucking terrified to set foot away from my boyfriend,” said Jack.

“I understand,” said Dale. “I did not mean to imply that I was annoyed by that. Merely that I was curious.”

“Yeah, well, good thing you’re not a cat, then,” said Jack. Dale snorted in amusement.

As they rode, Jack could begin to distinguish shapes in the greyness of his vision. There was a large rock. There was a fence. There was a bush. And there was a stone bridge coming up in front of them.

“I can see things,” said Jack. “Just dimly but we’re coming up to a bridge, right?”

“Yes,” said Dale. “We are.” His hooves on stone confirmed this.

“That’s fucking awesome,” said Jack, grinning. Dale walked down the hill, then stopped.

“Tell me what you see now,” said Dale, moving his head around.

“Woah, don’t fucking do that,” said Jack, laying a hand on Dale’s neck. “You’re making me dizzy.”

“Sorry,” said Dale, and moved his head slower.

“Buildings,” said Jack. “And stone fences, and cows, and- holy shit this is amazing!” Dale’s pride radiated into Jack’s thoughts, and Jack petted his horse’s neck.

“Let’s continue on, shall we?” asked Dale.

“Heh, who needs a seeing-eye dog when you can have a seeing-eye horse?” said Jack.

“The only downside is that, because you still have yet to come into your full powers, this will probably only work while you are on me,” said Dale.

“Want to test that theory?” asked Jack.

“If you are sure,” said Dale. “It may be difficult to mount me now.”

“Nobody can see me making a fool of myself out here,” said Jack.

Dale stopped in a small grove of trees, and Jack dismounted. Immediately, his vision returned to black.

“Hang on, I have an idea,” said Jack. “You were just using your magic so this should work.” He fumbled the shadow sight glasses on, and then had to squint against the bright white light in front of him and the bright pink lines running beneath their feet. “Shit, I forgot how much magic runs through this place.” Dale nickered in amusement. “Shut up, you ass.”

“Did your idea work?” asked Dale.

“Yeah,” said Jack. “I can see you with these shadow sight glasses since you were just talking my ear off and helping me see.”

“Good,” said Dale. “Shall we return to Ydris now or are you mad at him?”

“I’m not mad at him,” said Jack. “Just as long as he stops moping around. He’s not the one who’s blind.”

“You know how he gets after a spell backfires,” said Dale as Jack climbed back into his saddle.

“Ugh, he’s awful,” said Jack. “I can get being down on yourself but he’s such a drama queen sometimes.”

“Most of the magical folk in this place are drama queens,” said Dale. “Even the non-magical ones.” Jack chuckled.

“Yeah, you’re right,” said Jack. “Alright, let’s go home so Ydris can stop fretting because you know he is.”

Jack experienced the same greyness returning home, though a few colours had started to leak into his vision by the time they got to the bridge. Now, he could see the brown wooden boards passing beneath them, and a few spots of green ahead of them where the highland was. The tent, though, was a rather unflattering shade of brown.

“Colours are a bit different but at least I can kinda see,” said Jack.

“That is wonderful,” said Dale. “Now we both see the world in the same way.” Jack smiled, and he was still smiling by the time they arrived back at the wagon where Ydris was, as Jack had suspected, pacing the ground and wringing his hands in worry.

“I’m back,” said Jack.

“Jack! Oh thank goodness, I was so worried about you,” said Ydris. “You didn’t fall off, did you?”

“Nope,” said Jack. “And now I don’t want to get off at all.”

“Why not?” asked Ydris. “Are you afraid of falling off?”

“Nah,” said Jack. “He’s helping me see.”

“Ah, the Soul Rider bond,” said Ydris. “I had wondered about that, but it is annoyingly undocumented.”

“I can see what he sees,” said Jack. “That’s pretty much all there is to it.”

“But it is still fascinating,” said Ydris.

“And the other good part of this is that now I can get a Guide Dog,” said Jack. “Seems a bit pointless when I have a seeing-eye horse, but I can’t take him everywhere.”

“Yes, you will need a Guide Dog for going into Jorvik City,” said Ydris.

“Not that I ever do that,” said Jack.

“You go there with Zelda sometimes,” said Ydris.

“True,” said Jack. “I’ll apply for one.”

“Good, and in the meantime, you have shadow sight and your horse to help you see,” said Ydris.

“Yeah,” said Jack. “At least I can leave the highland now.”

“I trust Dale to look after you,” said Ydris.

“Good,” said Jack, feeling Dale’s happiness at that statement. This wasn’t anywhere near as bad as last time.


End file.
